Crafts of Tamil Nadu

GI tag

Chettinad Kandangi Saree

செட்டிநாடு கண்டாங்கி சேலை

Karaikudi, Chettinad, Sivaganga district

Kandangi is the heavy handwoven cotton saree of Chettinad, woven in and around Karaikudi in Sivaganga district.

Workshops: 1

GI tag

Chettinad Kottan (Palm-leaf Baskets)

செட்டிநாடு கொட்டான்

Kanadukathan, Chettinad, Sivaganga district

Kottan are baskets plaited from tender palmyra leaf by the women of Chettinad.

Workshops: 1

GI tag

Kanchipuram Silk Weaving

காஞ்சிபுரம் பட்டு

Kanchipuram, Kanchipuram district

Kanchipuram silk saris are handwoven from pure mulberry silk and zari (silver thread gilded with gold).

Workshops: 1

GI tag

Madurai Sungudi

மதுரை சுங்குடி

Madurai, Madurai district

Sungudi is Madurai's tie-dyed cotton saree, a craft of the Saurashtrian weavers who settled in the city under the patronage of Tirumalai Nayak in the 17th century.

Workshops: 1

GI tag

Pattamadai Pai (Korai Grass Mats)

பத்தமடை பாய்

Pattamadai, Cheranmahadevi taluk, Tirunelveli district

Pattamadai pai are mats woven from korai, a sedge that grows along the Tamirabarani river near Pattamadai.

Workshops: 1

GI tag

Swamimalai Bronze Icons

சுவாமிமலை வெண்கலச் சிலைகள்

Swamimalai, Kumbakonam taluk, Thanjavur district

Swamimalai's stapathis, hereditary sculptor-founders, cast temple icons by the lost-wax process: a figure modelled in beeswax and resin is encased in layers of fine alluvial clay from the Kaveri, heated so the wax runs o…

Workshops: 1

GI tag

Thanjavur Painting

தஞ்சாவூர் ஓவியம்

Thanjavur, Thanjavur district

Thanjavur paintings are devotional icons painted on cloth pasted over a wooden board and coated with a ground of chalk and gum.

Workshops: 1

GI tag

Thanjavur Thalaiyatti Bommai (Dancing Dolls)

தஞ்சாவூர் தலையாட்டி பொம்மை

Thanjavur, Thanjavur district

The Thanjavur thalaiyatti bommai comes in two forms: a roly-poly figure, often a raja and rani, whose weight sits in a rounded base so it rocks back upright when pushed, and a dancing doll whose head, torso and skirt are…

Workshops: 1

Aiyanar Terracotta Horses

அய்யனார் சுடுமண் குதிரைகள்

Mazhaiyur, Karambakudi taluk, Pudukkottai district

Across rural Tamil Nadu, terracotta horses, some taller than a person, stand guard at the shrines of Aiyanar, the village guardian deity, offered by devotees in fulfilment of vows.

Workshops: 1

Athangudi Tiles

ஆத்தங்குடி ஓடுகள்

Athangudi, Karaikudi taluk, Sivaganga district

Athangudi tiles are handmade cement tiles from the Chettinad village of Athangudi.

Workshops: 1

Kolam

கோலம்

Mylapore, Chennai

Kolam is the threshold drawing made at dawn in front of Tamil homes and temples, traditionally with rice flour that also feeds ants and birds.

Workshops: 1

A Geographical Indication (GI) tag, registered with the Government of India's GI Registry, certifies that a craft comes from its home region and its traditional makers.